French President Francois Hollande met with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka
and President Miloš Zeman during a one-day visit to the Czech Republic on
Wednesday. Twice before Hollande has had to cancel visits to the country
after terrorist incidents back home, and not surprisingly security and
European unity topped the agenda of the talks.

Francois Hollande, Bohuslav Sobotka, photo: CTK
The French president was received with military honours at Prague Castle on
Wednesday, where he and President Miloš Zeman discussed European security,
the migrant crisis and the state of bilateral relations. The top-level
talks then continued at Prime Minister Sobotka’s residence in Kramář
villa, where security concerns were once again at the centre of attention.
After the talks, the Czech prime minister stressed the need for greater
solidarity across the EU in tackling security issues:

“I am very glad that we were in agreement on the need to use all
possible resources to strengthen the external borders of Europe, and that a
joint effort is needed in the battle against terrorism. We also spoke about
cooperation within the EU framework. The Czech Republic is against digging
proverbial ditches creating chasms between individual parts of the European
Union. And we certainly welcome increased dialogue between V4 countries as
well as countries such as France.”

Meanwhile Francois Hollande thanked the Czech Republic for its assistance
in battling terrorism and also for sending forces to Mali, which has been
battling Islamist militants. The number of Czech forces was increased last
year after French troops were sent instead to fight Islamic State in Syria.
Hollande also emphasized the need to foster greater unity within the EU:

Francois Hollande, Miloš Zeman, photo: CTK“The Czech Republic is part of the Visegrad Group. Meanwhile France is a
founding member of the European Union. We cannot divide ourselves into
geographic regions. Sometimes we can have different views, but we are all
in one boat and our jobs are to jointly battle for a common vision of
Europe.”

The Czech side also brought up wage level disparities, which have been
souring bilateral relations. Prime Minister Sobotka called on companies
investing in the Czech Republic to increase wages, which, he argued, would
improve both living standards and foster unity across Europe.

The Czech Republic and France have recently been at odds over French moves
to impose their minimum wage levels on Czech truckers passing through the
country with stiff fines on those who break the rules. Prague and Paris
have now decided to pass on the problem to their respective ministries.